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Crucible of the Faithful
There exists a unique chapter that operates under many names and wears many colors, as the situation demands it, but is truly known as The Crucible of the Faithful (or “Crucibles” informally). You see, when a grand gesture need to occur and a space marine chapter needs to throw away their lives gallantly in a no-win scenario the Crucibles are sometimes called in to stand-in for them. They wear the armor of those who should be dying, pretend to be them, and die in the most gallant way possible. They are, in short, the most expendable marines in existence. They were born for this purpose. They are not the best marines (far from it), the smartest marines, or even the most worthy candidates- but they will do. They are, however, experts at losing and making it look really really good. Because of this they hold the distinction for the most losses of any chapter anywhere. Because failure is such an art to them they have a unique talent for being able to lose in a way that actually benefits the Imperium. What appears to be a resounding defeat for the Crucible of the Faithful might actually end up hurting those who won far more than expected down the road. Gene Seed The Crucibles are of Imperial Fist stock, though the quality of it is so degraded it is a bit of an insult to describe it as such. The gene seed of the Crucible of the Faithful is designed to make marines quickly, cheaply, and convincingly enough that others will think they marines. While it is quite pure and mutation free, it doesn’t give the desired effects- it just looks like it does. The strength, endurance, mental acuity, and perceptive abilities of your average Crucible of the Faithful marine is about 25% lower than your average marine from another chapter. While the other organs all work they all have some limiting factors. Immortals There is, amongst the upper echelons of the Crucible, a group known as “The Immortals”. These Immortals are the most skilled members of the chapter and actually partake in military conflicts legitimately. To become an Immortal you essentially have to be lucky enough to not be called on to actually die as part of your missions for long enough for a spot to open up in the Immortals. Recruitment Recruits are hardly trained; they are only trained as actors and in the basics while their implants take effect. The implants are designed to grow and adapt faster at the cost of quality. This results in a high number of dead recruits so they are taken in massive batches from hive worlds, penitentiaries, etc. They are screened with a rather mediocre test of faith, a rudimentary physical examination to ensure no overt mutation, and given a psychological analysis from an Imperial agent. Those that meet these bare minimum requirements and survive the basic implants are told what is really going on. Those that react poorly are immediately shot in the head and their gene seed is salvaged for the next attempt. The rest are trained in warfare, acting, and given the general idea of how to be a Space Marine. The rest of their training is a deep and intense indoctrination into the chapter cult which teaches them that the Emperor needs their sacrifice. They are instructed that only in death will the Emperor accept such a wretched soul as their and that there is no greater service that he will accept than dying in his name. This is not, strictly speaking, untrue. ''' Organization & Disposition A battle brother is a marine who has survived the implants and gone on their first mission. If they die they are still counted as having been a battle brother. Most are wounded if not killed during their missions so apothecaries are common. The chapter has no dreadnaughts as it would be counter-intuitive. Those that manage to survive their encounters are eventually promoted to sergeants. Sergeants have a hand in the pageantry, often having a small say in how the marines under their command will die (like a stage manager). Those that manage to survive long enough are inducted into the Immortals and are told that the Emperor must have singled them out for a special purpose. Only at this point are they granted the actually armor of the chapter and trained properly as Astartes. The 1st Company is the only actual, typical, company in the Chapter and is 3 times larger than a normal chapter. The other companies have 10 squads each but those numbers really represent the “ideal” amount. If their mission goes right, they will be down to 0. They are lead by an Immortal Captain. All Captains are Apothecaries and use the title “Dr.” before their name. A marine’s company is denoted by the number of studs on their right shoulder. When not geared up in a disguise a Crucible marine isn’t typically given a standard backpack. They have a small power generator about the size of a car battery that is locked in place there. The 2nd Company is comprised of marines who are potential Immortals and they are begun to be trained as actual marines during their tenure. They are trained as either Assault Marines or Devastators. Devastators marines of the chapter use dangerous plasma weapons almost exclusively. 1st Company: The Chosen Immortals Captain: Captain Bob Winkler x15 Tactical Squad x5 Assault Squads x5 Devastator Squads x5 Terminator Squad 2nd Company: The Hopefuls Captain: Dr. Sinus Carn x5 Assault Squads x5 Devastator Squads 3rd Company: The Test Subjects Captain: The Good Doctor Dr. Gooddoctor x10 Tactical Squad 4th Company: The Faithful Few Captain: Dr. Ricky Redoubt x10 Tactical Squad 5th Company: The Charnel Smoke Captain: Dr. Steve x10 Tactical Squad 6th Company: Living Dead Men Captain: Dr. Tim x10 Tactical Squad 7th Company: The Humble Captain: Dr. Bill x10 Tactical Squad 8th Company: The Free Captain: Dr. Jake x10 Tactical Squad 9th Company: The Unworthy Captain: Dr. Jerry x10 Tactical Squad 2nd Company: The Proving Grounds Captain: Dr. Yohan ~1,000 Scouts (Only about 100 fit for duty) Category:Imperial Fists Successors Category:Humor